Crossing the border with Blue Jays beat reporter Jordan Bastian.

B.J. Ryan Out for the Year

His back is fine, but his elbow is far from it. Toronto’s All-Star closer underwent Tommy John elbow ligament replacement surgery in Cincinnati on Thursday morning. Dr. Timothy Kremcheck, who performed the operation, told the Blue Jays that Ryan should be available by next spring.

Originally, the Jays said Ryan would miss 4-6 weeks after meeting with Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham, Ala. Andrews recommended four weeks of rest, and after three weeks, Ryan was put through a physical test in Texas. When the pain in his elbow, which has been there since the spring it turns out, wasn’t gone, Toronto discussed things over with the doctors and decided surgery was the best option. It’s the first such operation of Ryan’s career.

So, how who’s Toronto’s closer? Jason Frasor has been inconsistent and Jeremy Accardo could see some more time in the role. With Ryan out for the year, will Toronto look elsewhere for a temporary closer? They have Ryan under contract for three more years, so it’s have to be a one-year solution. I’m sure we’ll have a few more answers later today. Stay tuned…

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11 Comments

Well J.P., maybe you should have told the fans from the beginning that it was his elbow. Now it’s just another kick to us when we are down to find he’s gone for the year (and who knows after that).

I could not be more depressed about this team than I am now. I thought we had passed the lowest point since October 1993, but I have now discovered we may not be quite there yet.

Can someone remind me which year of the J.P. rebuilding plan are we on now? I can’t wait for the one with the postseason!

But realistically, did we think this year would be better than last? At the start of 06 we seemed to have five major league starters(Halladay, Burnett, Chacin, Lilly and Towers), a bullpen coming off a great year (Frasor, Chulk, Schoeneweis, etc) and a super closer. We had four great outfielders (Catalanotto, Johnson, Wells, Rios), two good catchers (Molina and Zaun), strong on the corners (Glaus and Overbay) with emerging players up the middle (Hill and Adams), and a stong mix at DH (Hillenbrand or one of the OF)

Somehow we were going to be better with three legit starters (Halladay, Burnett and Chacin) and a mixed bag of castaways and prospects, at best the same talent in the bullpen, three outfielders, one legit catcher (who we treated poorly in the off season), an aging DH with bad ankles on turf (how long before he’s injured??), and a veteran short stop with a career .258 average.

Our management has been pathetic. The pinnacle of this was last years situation with Hillenbrand. How could we lose on that trade at the deadline. Well, first you have your manager and team let a clubhouse situation spill out. Then you trade a guy who is hitting over .300 (.290 lifetime) and a decent reliever for a decent reliever. Normally, in the course of business, the decent relievers would cancel each other out. Therefore, we received nothing in return for a utility/DH/+.300 hitter at the trade deadline when a dozen teams are looking to improve.

This was followed up by the Ted Lilly debacle on field and in the dugout, which lead to him leaving. (I’m not saying he’s worth 10 million a year but I know why he didn’t sign with Toronto)

So, I guess what I am saying is, perhaps we could clear out the on and off field management (this experiment with JP has clearly failed) and start afresh. I just don’t think I can handle things getting any worse.

Scrasem:
You need to calm down. Thank goodness you’re not in charge of the Jays.

I agree this is very bad news but not news the team can’t overcome. There are some very good relievers in the bullpen. They, as a group, need to pull up there socks and give performances beyond what was expected of them. This is the only way the pitching woes will right themselves. No one can replace Ryan, so I suggest they don’t try. Ride the hot arms Gibbons. And hopefully there will be lots to choose from.

The other thing is that the starters need to do similar. The bats will come around, but the pitchers in general have to show the fans and management what they’re made of.

Aside from not being able to fill the starting pitching void, the team has simply had a large string of bad luck resulting in a horrible losing streak. But I’d say firing a GM or coach just gives the team one more question mark. They already have enough of those with all the injuries.

Adding an interim closer need not be a one-year thing. Considering the usual rehab time for Tommy John surgery, Ryan might not be ready at the start of next season, and whoever gets added to be a closer now could be a set-up man once Ryan is available again. I think the catch is the money; on the other hand, aren’t there usually insurance policies to cover injuries like this? Since it happened to Ryan’s throwing arm, I would imagine any such policy would have to pay out, especially since Ryan had not been injury-prone in the past.

The season is not lost. Although I will admit, I’ve lost alot of hope on post season chances. Right from the start most people knew that this team was going to have to stay healthy and have a great year to even come close. But lets look on the good side of this. We are giving some young players more of an opportunity to get some great experience. This team can still be competitive Dont think that this 8 game losing streak is going to continue the rest of the season. This team will right its ship and play lots of competitve ball down the road. Our offence is still one of the best in baseball. Hopefully we can find a replacement that will do an adequate job. Id like to see what Jeremy Accardo can do in the late innings. He has some good stuff, and if he throws strikes he could be pretty effective. Just look at Casey Janssen, because of injuries last year he got a chance to be exposed to the big leauges. There isnt alot of top end talent down on the farm but maybe we could find some guys who come up and just get the job done. As the old saying goes, whatever doesnt kill you only makes you stronger.

Ryan’s news only puts the nail in the coffin as far as i’m concerned. Tommy John usually takes 2 yrs. to fully gain back what a pitcher previously had (velocity,arm strengh etc.) so this could be an issue for next year as well.

The Jays’ biggest need in the off-season was pitching and at this point in the season it is clear that they did not address that. They lost Lilly and Spier and replaced them with Zambrano, Ohka and Thompson. I would trade all 3 of those guys for 1 of them back, let alone both.

Frank Thomas is looking like a guy who should retire soon, and Vernon Wells’ contract is not justifiable on a team that isn’t winning.

J.p. Should be fired, it doesn’t have to be now, but it should be done before ’08.

you guys arnt fans, your just complainers.
Obviously JP should be fired because he couldnt look into his crystal ball and see half of his team would be injured but the 30th game of the season…good call!

Actually, serial, predicting the future is part of the job. Anyone who couldn’t foresee the mess at the starter position was wearing rose coloured glasses. Further, our “potent offence” is only really missing Reed Johnson. (Zaun’s lifetime .252 is no different from anyone else we have at that position) So is one player in the offence the difference? I think Shea Hillenbrand may have been right – the ship was sinking and we are heading for the bottom of the ocean.

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